Red Sox bra s have been signaling their intent to have an aggre sive offseason, with president and CEO Sam Kennedy doubling down this week, per . As they look to navigate the next few months, they apparently dont view the competitive balance tax as a red line. Even if it takes us over the CBT, said Kennedy at the owners meetings, our priority is 90 to 95 wins, and winning the American League East, and winning the division for multiple years. Those comments are in line with some that Kennedy made , when he also referenced the 90-95 win window as well as targeting a division title. It seems the club is planning to reverse course after several years of playing things a bit more modestly. Looking at payroll data from , the Sox were one of the top six spenders in each year from 2000 to 2020, a stretch in which they won four titles. But they have dropped themselves down to middle of the pack lately, including being 12th in each of the past two seasons. Perhaps not coincidentally, the results have dropped off, with the Sox finishing last in the American League east in three of the past five years. Red Sox fans might roll their eyes after chairman Tom Werners full throttle comments last year didnt lead to much, but that arguably makes it more notable that the Sox have been taking every opportunity to raise expectations again, as letting the fans down two years in a row would obviously be poor public relations strategy. Chief baseball officer spoke of looking to in the rotation earlier this month. As mentioned, this is the second time that Kennedy has been
Javier Baez Jersey forthright in stating that the club is planning to take a shot at the division, this time indicating that they might even get into tax payor status as they do so. They have already been connected to big-name free agents like , , , and others. Is that po sible? If thats what it takes, yeah, absolutely, Kennedy said of adding a mega deal to the clubs ledger. We are investing more than we did last year. We intend to invest going forward. There is an extreme urgency internally to be competing for the American League East Championship and to set ourselves up for a deep postseason run in 2025 without question. The goal is to win 90 plus games to not be worrying about a wild card spot. A suming the club is indeed willing to cro s the tax line, that gives them a lot of spending power this winter. currently calculates the clubs CBT number at $171MM for 2025. The lowest threshold of the tax will $241MM next year, meaning the Sox could give out contracts with about $70MM in terms of average annual value before getting to the line. That might not even be the cap of their spending ability if they are willing to go beyond the base threshold. The Sox havent paid the tax since 2022, so they would be a first-time payor in 2025. That means they would be looking at a base tax rate of just 20%, with higher rates for going beyond the three further thresholds, each one being $20MM higher than the one before. Soto is expected to land a historic deal, with many predictions suggesting he could get something in the window of $45-50MM annually. Theoretically, its po sible for the Sox to sign Soto and still have money for other moves, if they are willing to go over the line. Or even without signing Soto, they could sign multiple players from the next tier of free agency. Of course, saying that youre willing to pay the tax and then actually doing it are two different things. Its still entirely po sible that the Sox are aggre sive in ways that push the payroll towars the tax line without going over. That could mean le s activity in free agency while being more active on the trade market, or perhaps not doing much in either sphere. However it plays out, that gives the club a lot of po sible options in terms of upgrading a team that went 81-81 in 2024. They have some strong core players like , , and others. They have a lauded group of prospects which includes the Big Four of , , and , who are all on the cusp of the majors. Those players could perhaps be used as part of a mega deal for someone like , or they could be kept as the Sox addre s their roster with free agents instead. Everything and anythings on the table for us, Kennedy said. Free agency, trades, promotions from the minor leagues.
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